Projects

This internship contributed to a larger postdoctoral research fellowship project: a kaupapa Māori analysis of Māori experiences of cannabis and methamphetamine use.

This internship aimed to address the critical shortage of literature in this field by providing insight into the ways climate change has impacted the mental health of Indigenous Peoples.

This project aimed to redress the lack of culturally safe, gender-affirming, and inclusive support services available for rangatahi takatāpui and their whānau within the Te Ranga Tupua rohe.

This te reo Māori publication shares powerful naming narratives from reo champions who reclaim Māori names as part of their language journeys. Through these stories—written entirely in te reo—it celebrates identity, resistance, and reo revitalisation, and includes teaching resources for kura kaupapa and wharekura.

Project Summary

This creative-led project focuses on four sites: Poor Knights, Hen and Chicks, Little and Great Barrier Island. 

Pukapuka Hanganga Reo Matatini brings treasured pūrākau of Te Aitanga a Mahaki to life through structured literacy children’s books that support neurodiverse tamariki to learn te reo Māori while connecting with their whakapapa and iwi.

Project Summary

This project, Wānanga Rau, Taumata Rau, Pukenga Rau, aims to provide an innovative conceptual toolkit and resources for the Māori Performing Arts community in Aotearoa, New Zealand. 

He Kahu Kōrero – Cloaks that Speak will be an accessible scholarly book celebrating the art of whatu kākahu and the transformative journeys of six Māori women and their whānau.

Project Summary

The project builds on a case study, “Ko te whaea te takere o te waka: Māori mothers as navigators of change,” which examined Māori mothers as key change-makers for their whānau. 

In 2025, the Waitangi Tribunal marks 50 years since its founding. This new collection, edited by Carwyn Jones and Maria Bargh, will bring together Māori scholars to reflect on the Tribunal’s impactful work across key issues like whenua, awa, taonga, and rangatiratanga. It will highlight the enduring significance of Tribunal findings for Māori communities, despite ongoing challenges in government response.

Project Summary

This project is part of a ‘circular economy’ research project based on a Jobs for Nature’ [J4N] river restoration programme, Toitū te Hakapupu, being undertaken by Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki (Puketeraki) in East Otago. 

Project Summary

This project translates the findings of lead researcher Dr Ngahuia Mita’s doctoral research Tairāwhiti Waka, Tairāwhiti Tāngata; Examining Tairāwhiti Voyaging Philosophies into practical printed and digital resources, to be shared with tamariki, rangatahi and whānau across Te Tairāwhiti and Aotearoa. 

This research project is creating a Digital Data Dashboard that links land blocks and sites with tūpuna and hapū names for the uri of Turora.

Kapa haka provides a space for cultural expression, physical movement, and identity development. But how can technology be used to develop accessible kapa haka-informed physical movement resources that promote cultural identity development and overall wellbeing for rangatahi and whānau Māori?

This project uses Kaupapa Māori theory to challenge the current dominant Western explanations for suicide, which fail to consider socio-cultural-political pressures and historical processes such as colonisation as core to Indigenous suicide.

Kauora is a whānau-derived theory and practice of swimming, developed through Raureti’s doctoral research, that redefines how whānau engage in kaupapa wai. This project supports its implementation by developing a data sovereignty policy for Ngāti Kapu to guide the protection and long-term sustainability of mātauranga, reo and whānau data gathered through this kaupapa in Ōtaki.

LiDAR technology offers unprecedented access to the whenua—capturing the contours of the landscape at fine detail and revealing wāhi tapu and heritage sites often lost under forest canopies or inaccessible locations. This research explores how hapū and iwi can utilise geospatial technologies like LiDAR to identify, connect-with, and enrich the management of, culturally significant sites.

Ebony’s PhD research will explore the contribution of Māori nurse practitioners and opportunities to transform Primary Healthcare services within Aotearoa.

Underpinned by a Kaupapa Māori methodological stance, this project seeks to undertake research at the interface of mātauranga Māori and surgery to produce resources that will practically improve care for whānau who have an apronectomy.

This research supports iwi-led, tikanga-informed innovation, grounded in Kaupapa Māori methodology. Through wānanga and co-design with Ngāti Tukorehe, the team is developing safe, solvent-free dye processes that respect tikanga and are reproducible in community settings.